New WHS Opens Today -- Simply Spectacular -- August 24, 2016

 Updates

August 26, 2016: from The Williston Wire, Watford City sets school enrollment record:

Ask any school administrator what they like to see when it comes to enrollment trends and the most common response is, "slow and steady."

And for Steve Holen, McKenzie County Public School District No. 1 superintendent, who has seen his district's enrollment nearly quadruple in the last six years, this year's record enrollment numbers are finally starting to reflect that slow and steady growth trend.

"On our second day of classes on Aug. 19, we had a record 1,448 students enrolled in the district's three schools," states Holen. "Last year at this time, we had 1,354 students, which was also a record at that time."

August 26, 2016: from The Williston Wire --

A new $70 million, technology-savvy, three-story Williston High School has opened its doors. Teachers moved into the 225,000 square-foot building sitting on almost 40 acres earlier this month, but the school's 1,200 students moved in this week to the 50 classrooms, designed with technology in mind.

The school was built as enrollment has climbed by about 40 percent in the past years with no let up is in sight, according to superintendent Michael Campbell.

He said early enrollment figures show there are 465 new students enrolled in grade K-12.

With 3,678 students last September, he said he expects the district to go over the 4,000 mark this fall.

"We might need another elementary school," Campbell said about the growing enrollment, which he said "is and isn't a surprise."

Original Post

 

Note: I'm sure the most asked question is the enrollment figures for the high school from 2013 on. The last figure I saw was for 2013: 960 high school students. If anyone has more current information, I'm sure readers would be interested.  But we have to compare apples and apples. I believe up until today ninth graders were not part of the high school. Today, ninth graders are. Update, see first comment: about 1,150. 

I hope to see this for myself, sometime in September.

From The Williston Herald:

Teachers moved into the 225,000 square-foot, three-story building earlier this month, but today is the big day, when the classrooms, designed with technology in mind, will be filled with students.

The modern building, with banks of glass windows, offers spectacular views, and not just to the outside. Everything — literally everything — is new, from the gymnasium to the field turf on the football field to the Coyote Cafe, featuring signs that tell students to “Relax” and “Enjoy.”

Paige O’Neill and Kailey Woodhams, both seniors, came in Tuesday to find their classrooms ahead of the first-day chaos.

Both girls had positive opinions on the new building, saying they liked the new, sleek look.

“I like how the desks are all the same; it makes the school look more pulled together and organized,” Woodhams said, adding that the size of the three-story structure will take some getting used to.

there are about 50 classrooms, along with various rooms where teachers can work or collaborate.

The school is divided into three main sections, one for the gym, one for art, music, theater and administration and one for the classrooms.

The one word that keeps popping up: "big."